Baby It’s Cold Outside

December 14, 2008

Winter running is hardcore. Yesterday it was 30 degrees outside, but was windy as hell with a 15 degree wind chill. With a 10 mile run on the schedule for the day, I sucked it up, tossed on tons of layers and headed out to the streets.

I was decked out in wool socks, wind blocking tights, two long sleeve coolmax t shirts, wind breaker, gloves, neck warmer, scull cap and head band. Even with all of that on, the first 2 miles were a little cool, but after that I warmed up and was nice and cozy. When the wind calmed down, I was actually feeling really good and took off my gloves for a while to cool down, but about half way through my run down the Charles River I hit a killer head wind. I was really thankful that I decided to bring my neck warmer to cover part of my face because the wind got so cold that even the fillings in my teeth started to freeze and hurt if I left my mouth open. Brutal.

Here is one of the views from the river at about the mid-point of the run.

This was my longest run so far and my body knew it. Even with doing nice and slow 10 minute miles and stopping every 10 minutes to do a set of pushups, my back/shoulders and legs were all a little beat up by the end, although having good gear for the run definitely made all of the difference. While my average HR was probably a little higher because of the added miles and the gusting 15 degree winds, I never felt that bad and cruised along pretty easily though the whole run.

I do love my new CW-X insulator tights too. They freakin’ rock my socks off and have been keeping my legs warm for the last few weeks of cold runs. This was the coldest run I’ve brought them out on so far and was super happy with them. They will definitely be coming with me to the Hyannis half marathon starting line in February.

After the run I jumped on the trainer and watched most of the IM World Champhionship on my DVR. It was really good to do a workout inside and out of the cold and give my legs a little rest after pounding the pavement for 10 miles. If you can watch Ironman Hawaii without being inspired and wanting to race there, I’m not sure if I can relate to you as a human being. That race and everyone that does it is freaking amazing. I rarely get emotional for any sappy movies or TV shows, but the race coverage definitely pull at a few of my heart strings. I’ll be watching it plenty more times before making way for anything else on my DVR.

kudos on the run. i have yet to brave the outside, i keep telling myself today is the morning i do it, but it has yet to happen, i’ve opted instead for flying to warmer places to get in some outdoor running – if only my bank account could support that habit. been to B lately? i’m planning on starting that up on wednesdays again after the new year.

I’ll admit to be being a bit of a Craft Fan boy. their winter stuff just works the best for me. Summer stuff is a bit small so I normally go with DeSoto. But Cold weather runs are such a blast. To see the looks on people’s faces when their all bundled up in their car while you are clicking off the miles. 😉